To Slip
by KaiDragon
Summary: *Sequel to Return from Death* Bakura is trying to save himself before he loses it R
1. Christmas Madness

A fire blazed in the fireplace during the cold winters night. Bakura was surrounded by his friends. Yami, Ryou, and Marik were once again playing a video game. Yugi awaited for Tristan to return from picking Tea up at the airport. Joey sat on the couch entertaining his younger sister. Serenity. As they all enjoyed themselves, sharing memories and drinking egg nog, Bakura sat quietly watching the fire as if it were the greatest thing he'd ever seen.  
  
The calm Christmas get together at Bakuras home was interrupted by the spirits throwing down their controllers, frustrated at the fact that they always had a three way tie. They thought it was ridiculous that this always happened.  
  
Tristan opened the door and held it open for Tea. She wore a leather jacket with a fur collar lining. Yugi jumped up and greeted them. Tea placed her gifts under the well decorated tree and sat down next to Joey.  
  
"How's Britain, Tea?" Yugi asked wanting to know every detail  
  
After high school had ended (in June) Tea was accepted to attend a highly appreciated school of dance. Tristain and Joey attended a small junior college in which they were luckily accepted. Yugi will be attending Domino University once spring rolls around.  
  
Yami will be left to attend the shop after Yugi's grandfather had died in the late summer due to cancer. Ryou hangs around at the Turtle Game Shop a lot with Yami and Marik reminiscing about the past. They would remember the times when they were troublemaking friends causing problems left to right. Although they did fight time to time.  
  
"It's great, Yugi! I brought you all something, but they're all wrapped up and tucked underneath the tree." Tea smiled  
  
Bakura turned his gaze away from the fire to the couch. As he watched it the couch transformed into the head of a monster with a smirking smile on his face. Bakura shook away this sight, but Ryou understood what was wrong.  
  
Ever since the eye was accidently placed into Bakura's head he'd been slipping into insanity. Thanks to Bakura's strong will he has managed to not only stay sane longer than a normal human but also kept it from his friends. No need to worry them. Although with the eye within his head, he can see into peoples minds and has a tendancy to have a vision or two now and then.  
  
Ryou looked down at the gifts under the tree. He counted how many each person had recieved. Bakura had 7 as well as Tristan, Tea, and Yugi. Serenity had 5 and Joey had 8. The spirits each had 3.  
  
Tea droned on and on about her time in Britain until there was nothing left to say. Tristan and Joey spoke of how they managed to hold C's in J. College and Serenity spoke of how she had thought of exploring the world.  
  
"But once you finish high school, sis." Joey reminded her  
  
"I know, big brother, I know."  
  
After they ate they exchanged gifts. Bakura didn't open his.  
  
"What's wrong, Bakura?" Yugi asked  
  
"I just don't think I should open them."  
  
"Don't you wanna have the surprise in the presence of your friends?" Tea asked  
  
"What surprise? I already know what each one is." Bakura sighed  
  
He stood up and was ready to walk off. Once he opened the door to exit he whispered "Besides what if one were to eat me?"  
  
Everyone thought they heard it wrong but Ryou and Marik sighed. They had worry in their eyes. Worry for Bakura obviously.  
  
"Did he just say... What I thought he said?!" Joey asked  
  
"I thought he would've told you all by now." Ryou said placing a half opened box down onto the floor  
  
"Told us what, Ryou?" Yugi asked  
  
"Well when we were fighting Zeda, a while back, he fell onto the eye in which it was accidently placed into his head."  
  
"Him, not being the destined one for the eye." Marik continued  
  
"Would drive him insane." Yami finished  
  
"So your tellin' me that Bakura is goin wacko?" Joey asked  
  
"To put it in lamen terms, yes."  
  
Yugi stood up and followed Bakura out. He had to be sure he was all right. The door to Bakura's room had a carved in sign that read: KEEP OUT! In Japanese, Egyptian, English, and shadow realm language. Bakura was lying on his bed. Within his room there lied torn pictures of family and friend on the floor. Holes in the wall as it Bakura had stabbed them. Broken glass, tattered old clothing, also writings on the wall which was written in blood, most likely Bakura's.  
  
"Bakura... " Yugi whispered  
  
"Why do you have so much sorrow in your voice?" Bakura asked not even looking up  
  
"Why didn't you tell us?" Yugi was now sitting beside him on the bed  
  
The door slammed shut and the knob locked itself. Every window in the room shut and locked.  
  
"I didn't want to worry you."  
  
Bakura reached down and picked up an Egyptian looking book. He opened it to a marked page in which it read: Will power.  
  
"It's a spell I used so that I could be stronger against the magic. I was hoping it would give me enough time so that I may escape this fate."  
  
"How?" 


	2. Egyptian Vacation

"Well I read in a book that you must go to the guardian and explain. Of course, like always it gave a warning. It said: Be wary and tell the truth or your lies maybe your last." Bakura replied with a heavy sigh  
  
"They must be talking about Shadi and the millenium scales." Yugi said also sighing "How are we supposed to get to Egypt?"  
  
Bakura began to ponder this as well, but when he looked down at the book within his hands which, in his mind, began to grow teeth and snapped at him. He quickly dropped it and kicked it under his bed.  
  
"Are you alright?" Yugi asked hiding his look of worry but not doing a good job of it  
  
"Hm? Oh, I'm fine! Perfectly and utterly fine!" Bakura managed to smile even if it was fake  
  
"Well we'll find a way so we can go to Egypt. Together OK?" Yugi asked and Bakura nodded "I'll tell the others."  
  
"I think you already have." Bakura moved a finger up and the door unlocked and 7 people came tumbling in  
  
"Um... It was the Pharaoh's idea!" Marik and Ryou yelled  
  
"No! It was Joeys!" Tristan said before Yami had a chance  
  
"Me? NO WAY! It was Tea! All Tea!" Joey exclaimed  
  
Bakura just laughed at them and stepped over them to get into the hall. He grabbed a model airplane and stood watching it intently. By the time he placed it back on the shelf everyone was standing. Bakura turned around and looked a bit disappointed.  
  
"Every flight has now been canceled due to a sudden snow storm. But the next flight to Egypt that has a good chance of leaving the runway is January 2nd."  
  
"You got all that from a model airplane?" Joey asked in awe  
  
"Um... Yes... " Bakura replied hesitantly "So are you all coming?" Yugi asked  
  
Many heads nodded. Yami, Ryou, and Marik would love to see their home again. Joey and Tristan might be able to meet some girls there, that still haven't met him. Tea was thinking about getting a tan, and Serenity just wanted to go. Then finally there was Yugi. He would just love to help.  
  
"All right if your all coming... I suggest you pack light clothing for the day and jackets for nights. Practice your Egyptian. Also Joey, Tristan you should just stay quiet throughout the whole trip. I'll book the flights and thats pretty much it." Bakura said 


	3. Spirited Friendship

"Ah, a new year." Tea said watching the fireworks blast  
  
Bakura kept his eyes closed through the thunderous entertainment in fear that his mind will have more tricks installed. Back at the game shop the house was dark except for the spirits who stayed behind. Packed bags lied nearby the living room doorway and a small lamp was lit.  
  
"We're off to Egypt tomorrow." Yami said looking at his friends  
  
"It's going to be strange to see our home in ruins eh? Except for yours of course oh high and mighty pharaoh." Ryou said in a mocking tone  
  
"I called Isis and she said we'll be staying at her home." Marik added  
  
The three Egyptians leaned back onto the couch and sighed. Returning to Egypt would mean returning to their past, which is by now ruins. Yami began laughing.  
  
"Remember when we were young and we set fire to my father's bed?" Yami asked  
  
"Yeah. Marik poured wine on it trying to put it out, but made it worse." Now Ryou was laughing  
  
"Yeah, well at least I didn't SET it." He said looking over at Ryou  
  
"Hey Yami wanted to see what happened if we set fire to silk."  
  
All three of them were laughing at memories from their distant past. Slowly the laughing died down and Ryou looked to his friends.  
  
"What happened to that?"  
  
"The bed? It burned up and set the night table on fire." Marik answered and Ryou smiled  
  
"No I mean our friendship."  
  
There was a brief silence amongst the spirits. After all it was 5,000 years ago and it took a few seconds to try and recall memories. Finally someone spoke.  
  
"We were friends for so long," Marik began "you'd never of thought we'd become such enemies. I was a guard to the pharaoh. Ryou was a thief. And Yami was of high stature, pharaoh to be precise. So our families always tried to separate us. Especially ours from Ryou's. I suppose when Ryou and I obtained the items we didn't tell you after all I may have been a guard, but I was still a theif nonetheless."  
  
Ryou and Yami listened intently. They weren't surprised to see that Marik knew about the past better than either of them. Yami had major amnesia, and Ryou knew little but not enough. Marik was always nearby those who could obtain information easily, Isis for example. They always lived in Egypt after all.  
  
Marik continued "When Yami became pharaoh he had to uphold the laws. We being what we were our friendship slowly disintegrated. Ryou and I used our power for evil while Yami used it for good. Eventually I became jealous of the pharaohs power and wished to have it for myself. Ryou didn't know that the pharaohs power was greater than that of the seven items. So I suppose thats how we all got locked away our friendship with it."  
  
Another moment of silence washed over them. The only sounds that were heard were the crashing of the fireworks and the cheers of the people outside. The silence began to bug Ryou so he spoke.  
  
"Remember when we first met?" Ryou asked  
  
All of them looked up at him.  
  
"I was telling Marik a new plan to get treasures in hidden tombs. You being the nosy, evesdropping prince you are," (this made Yami say "HEY!!! I WAS NOT!") "listened in on our convorsation and looked at the map I made of the tomb. You said 'thats the trap room THATS the room with the treasure.' You surprised me and I tore the map. Marik laughed and Yami you looked dumbfounded."  
  
"And you were on the floor breathing heavily." Marik added  
  
"And you attacked Marik who then fell on top of me!" Yami said  
  
"After that I got thrown out of the palace and I sneaked back in to Yami's room. Where we ended up trashing it."  
  
The three of them began laughing.  
  
"Your bed was stuck on the ceiling!" Marik exclaimed and fell over  
  
"Now that you mention it... How did we do that?" Yami asked  
  
"I think we stole the mage Seto's potions." Ryou replied  
  
"Seto?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"We've been ruining his life for years." Yami said smiling at his friends  
  
"Yeah. Even after death."  
  
"Death? We're not dead." Marik told Ryou  
  
"Uh... Yeah sure."  
  
Ryou's gaze turned serious and before either had anything to say Yugi and the others came in. They were laughing and saying how great the fireworks were. Bakura suggested they all get into bed now so they can be ready on time. Ryou immediately returned to the ring and after a moment of nothing Yami and Marik returned to their items as well.  
  
"How did I get here?" Malik asked 


	4. Airport

The following day Malik and Marik were separated. Even though Malik was angry at his yami he decided it would be nice to go back to Egypt.When everyone was packed and ate their breakfast they began loading the luggages into the car.  
  
"Tea, we're not going for a year!" Tristan said lugging Tea's 5th luggage  
  
"OK! You can get rid of one. BUT ONLY ONE!" Tea told him  
  
"Hmmmm... The biggest one!"  
  
"NO THAT HAS MY HAIR SUPPLIES!!!"  
  
"The purple one."  
  
"MY ACCESSORIES!"  
  
"The blue one?"  
  
"MY FUR COATS!"  
  
"Tea! You don't need al of this stuff!" Bakura said  
  
"But... "  
  
"Whats in the small one anyway?" Tristan asked  
  
"Food."  
  
Everyone was silent for a moment. Normal food or airplane food?  
  
"We're bringing it! We're getting rid of all the pointless bags."  
  
Tea began to pout. The yami's laughed agreeing that they're glad they don't need to pack. They all snapped to attention when Bakura placed a hershy's bar in front of their face. (hehe my trade mark doing from now on is an obsession to chocolate! :p) Bakura dropped it and they began breaking the bar apart. He knew if he stood there any longer holding it they'd bite his arm off.  
  
When they arrived at the airport it was packed. People were returning from and to their home and vacation spots. The flight to Egypt wouldn't be a crowded one so it was a small plane. Many of the people on board were archaeologists and Egyptologists. The spirits returned to their items just in case there were extra seats on the plane they'd get to ride for free.  
  
Bakura was once again wearing his cloak with the hood down mind you. He took off his ring and placed it into the basket and took a deep breath. (more mind tricks) He quickly went through and picked up his ring. The metal detector broke when Bakura passed through but it was an internal error and couldn't be easily spotted. Bakura knew that the machine had broke because of the eye implanted in his head. As Bakura passed through the metal detector his heart skipped a beat because of something he saw which somehow triggered the eye into destroying the insides of the machine.  
  
'My mind was playing tricks again.' Bakura thought  
  
When they all began to board Egypt air (creative!) Bakura placed his hood on.  
  
"Whats wrong?" Yugi asked  
  
"Um... Nothing."  
  
Yugi was a bit worried but he thought it was the eye acting up again. When they stepped in everyone realized what Bakura's problem was. His father. 


	5. Alone

Bakura passed by his father quickly trying to conceal his face. He urged his friends to not say his name. They nodded in agreement and silently the plane took off.  
  
"Hey where are the bathrooms?" Joey asked  
  
"There are no bathrooms in this flight." Yugi replied  
  
"Your joking right Yug?"  
  
Yugi shook his head. And soon enough he realized that Bakura's father was watching them. Ryou felt his hikari's uneasiness which came from an outside influence instead of the eye within.  
  
After a while in the air the plane leveled and people were allowed to move. Bakura's father (from now will be call BF) walked over to Yugi and the others. Bakura pulled his hood father over his face and pretended to be asleep when he was just listening and watching his father.  
  
"Yugi Moto?" BF asked sitting in an empty chair  
  
"Yes, sir." Yugi replied  
  
"You probably don't remember-" Yugi cut him off  
  
"Of course I do you're Bakura's father." Yugi said "Um you remember Joey, Tristan, Tea. And over there is Malik." He pointed over to the young Egyptian  
  
"Where's your grandfather? I'm sure he'd be here."  
  
"Actually he died not too long ago." Yugis expression turned to sadness  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you looking into archaeology?"  
  
"Actually this is a late Christmas vacation." Tea replied quickly  
  
Bakura could hear his fathers British tone still wavering in his voice. He saw that he had been wearing his achaeologist garb which didn't seem washed. Bakura wished he could pull off his hood and be with his father once more, yet Bakura was labeled dead. At this moment he didn't have a social security number, ID, or anything to do with his identity. It's amazing what people can erase in three years. It's amazing how one person could change in only three years. Bakura had always been a loner, always keeping to himself and avoiding others. But when he was in the shadow realm he never felt so alone. As time passed he figured that his friends and family had forgotten him. That he was just another missing person that would have his picture on the milk carton until a new childish puzzle was invented to put on it's side instead. Even though he had been a lot more popular in the shadow realm then in the real world he couldn't help but feel alone. Now he knows how Yami, Ryou, and Marik felt.  
  
With his toughts he hadn't realized that time had passed so quickly. BF had returned to his seat and was taking a nap as well as the others. Bakura slowly fell into sleep where a vision began... 


End file.
